


I'll Steady You

by jessahmewren



Category: Reylo - Fandom, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Reylo - Freeform, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 13:40:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13168083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessahmewren/pseuds/jessahmewren
Summary: After the events of The Last Jedi, Rey returns to the Island only to find that she and Kylo are still connected through the Force.





	I'll Steady You

**Author's Note:**

> Contains Spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi

-0-0-0-

If Rey had balanced the lightsaber in the air once, she’d done it fifty times.  Still, the ice-blue blade thrummed a resonate hum in the clear air in front of her, awaiting her influence. 

Rey sat in the dwelling she had made her temporary home while she was on the island.   The moon was bright, and she could see it reflecting on the smooth faces of the rocks outside.  She could feel the Force pulsing around her, moving into and out from her through ground, the air, and anything she came in contact with.  She closed her eyes.  She was a channel, a free-flowing vessel, an instrument.  The lightsaber in the air in front of her turned on its side. 

Soon, the tonal hums of its maneuvers drowned out the seabirds, the distant mewing porgs, and the crashing waves.  The air was thick with ozone.

Through the Force she practiced turning the lightsaber on and off, then setting it down on the ground and raising it again.  The motion was as fluid as breathing as long as she didn’t think too much about it.  Rey had found that interacting with the Force had a lot to do with not interacting at all, but with letting go.  She still had a lot to learn in that department. 

Suddenly she felt the growing warmth in her chest, a feeling of the Force but outside of the Force…a feeling that could only signal a visit from him. 

No, she thought, not again _._ The thought of Ben being able to appear before her at any time, day or night was not only confusing but invasive.  She immediately put her guard up.

”May I touch your thoughts?”

Ben’s voice, deep and quiet, echoed in the theater of her mind. 

She huffed a laugh, and the lightsaber clattered to the ground. 

“Oh, we’re asking now?  No shirtless pop-ins this time?”

“That was Snoke’s doing,” he said quietly.  “I come of my own accord now.” 

She swallowed.  So, they were still connected! She thought wildly.  She briefly wondered how it was possible.  Ben’s question again interrupted her. 

“So may I?”

She set her mouth.  “Yes,” she said quietly.  “If you’re not long.  It’s late.” 

Rey exhaled, closing her eyes.  She felt Ben touch her mind as if cool fingers were on her scalp, and beneath the coolness a stirring of warmth.  It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.  She opened her eyes and found herself balancing precariously on a craggy rock just inland from the island. Ben was beside her standing on the water.

“Take my hand,” he said above the waves, “And I’ll steady you.” 

She shivered, the wind cutting sharply and nearly blowing her off her already shaky perch.  She looked at him dubiously.  “Why can’t I just stand on the water like you?”

He shook his head, his raven locks tangling in the sea spray.  “No Rey.  To stand like me you have to live like me.  Are you ready to do that?” 

She looked at his outstretched hand, the same hand he had offered her in Snoke’s throne room.  Was this the same offer, she wondered.  To rule the galaxy with him as an equal?  Or was this a simple offer of aid?  She was suddenly very confused. 

“Rey, listen to me.”  He was very close to her now, so close she could feel his breath on her face. “You have to choose now.  You don’t have much time.” 

Rey looked down to see the rock eroding under her feet.  Beneath the water swam sea creatures with large, foreboding teeth.  This was a test, she knew, but of what, she wasn’t quite sure.  She looked up at him, her eyes wet.  “I can’t tell if you’re trying to hurt me or help me.”  

Ben’s features softened, and he opened his hand to her.  “Step out onto the water Rey,” he said softly.  “Or take my hand.” 

Rey closed her eyes.  When she opened them, she was back in her dwelling.  She still held Ben’s hand.  Self-consciously, she withdrew it. 

“That was real,” she said unbelievingly.  “But it was daytime!  How was it real?” 

“It was another time, another place.  But it was real.”  He reached to tuck an errant strand of hair behind her ear.  “You’ve got sand in your hair,” he said gently.  He smiled quickly at her, so quickly she thought she might’ve imagined it. 

“I would never hurt you Rey.”  He swallowed.  “You said you weren’t sure of my intentions.”  He nodded slightly.  “Well those are my intentions.  To never hurt you. Only to help you.” 

She looked at him and smiled slightly.  He sighed.  “Do you want me to take this memory from you so you can sleep?” 

Her brow creased.  “You haven’t upset me.” She smiled then.  “Stop messing with my head.”

He surprised her then by returning the smile.  “I see you have been practicing.  You’re getting stronger.  More controlled.” 

She only nodded. 

“That’s good,” he said.

“I’ll leave you.”  He stood and brushed himself off.  She looked down and his boots were wet. 

He stopped halfway to the door and paused, looking over his shoulder.  “Rey.  Any decision you make going forward will be yours alone.  You must know that.”

“I know,” she said. 

He disappeared around the corner of her little dwelling and into the night.  She watched his long black shadow recede until there was nothing but the pale face of the grey rocks in the moonlight.

-0-0-0-


End file.
